Eqinox International was a multi-level marketing organization, headed by William Gouldd. In the early-to-mid 1990's, Equinox was one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States. [1] (http://www.npros.com/news/equinox042100.htm)
Beginning in 1996, Equinox came under scrutiny for a number of alleged improprieties and illegal acts, including deceptive recruitment tactics. Numerous individuals had filed criminal and civil complaints against Equinox, claiming the firm had swindled them out of money.
On the 25 April 2000 the Federal Trade Commission issued a notice that Equinox International had settled the court case with a penalty of $40,000,000 in restitution to the victims of Equinox International.
Additionally, Gouldd, the principle of Equinox International, was forced to liquidate many of his possessions, and is furthermore barred for life from participating in any network marketing organization in the United States.
In years past, Equinox had entered into a consent decree in Florida and its founder Gouldd had entered into a consent decree in California arising from pre-Equinox activity as an NSA distributor.
Equinox has denied the allegations and posted resistance to the action, but historically, direct selling companies subject to this type of FTC action have not survived in the marketplace.
Its procedural approach by which a lawsuit is filed under seal, a restraining order is achieved and the assets of the company and its owners are frozen without notice, is an unfair tactic against a well-established company that virtually seals its death before a dialog has ever taken place between the FTC and the company.
Equinox was previously fined by several states for deception and it was raked over the coals in a 1996 segment of 20-20 that was seen by millions of TV viewers across the country.
Equinox was one of the largest MLMs prosecuted by the FTC in the last 25 years.
The FTC experts showed that Equinox's rebate payments to upliners, which amounted to 48% of all wholesale sales to distributors, were really just "payments for recruiting." Only a small percentage of Equinox sales were ever retailed to people who were not also recruited as distributors.
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